United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-05-02 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-02-698T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T P0b002ee180399af7 f:d02698t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T GAO-02-698T Foreign loans International economic relations International organizations Developing countries Debt Debt collection Federal grants Financial institutions Economic policies Foreign policies Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative Testimony A03222 Last year, President Bush proposed that the World Bank and other development banks replace half of all future loans to the world's poorest countries with grants. The goal of the proposal was to relieve poor countries' long term debt burdens. The World Bank estimates that the proposal would result in a financial loss of $100 billion dollars to it during the next 40 years. GAO found that the proposal would help poor countries reduce their debt burdens and that the World Bank would lose only $15.6 billion, which could be financed through relatively small increases in donor contributions. This testimony is based on an April report. (See GAO-02-593.) https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T.htm GAO-02-698T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-698T Testimony GAO-02-698T; Developing Countries: Switching Some Multilateral Loans to Grants Would Lesson Poor Country Debt Burdens; Foreign loans International economic relations International organizations Developing countries Debt Debt collection Federal grants Financial institutions Economic policies Foreign policies Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative